Ball door attachment for automatic pin setting machines



V. N. LARSON Dec. 12, 1961 BALL DOOR ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC PIN SETTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan 6, 1960 v ,flnvanl'ov MEN M. Lawson dzflo e W1 Mess WQM Dec. 12, 1961 v. N. LARSON 3,012,782

BALL. DOOR ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC PIN SETTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 6, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I ,flnvent'or l q 1 m Lawson United States Patent 3,012,782 BALL DOOR ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC PIN SEWING MACHKNES Virgil N. Larson, Story City, lowa (1793 Geneva St, Aurora, Colo.) Filed Jan. 6, 1960, Ser. No. 872 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-49) My invention relates to bowling equipment and more particularly to an attachment for a ball door on an automatic pin setting machine.

Certain automatic pin setting equipment is provided with a door element and means for moving the ball into engagement with the door after the ball has passed through the pin area and off the end of the bowling alley. The impact of the ball engaging the door is suliicient to open the door, which is usually spring loaded, and the ball can then proceed to the ball-return mechanism. On some occasions, a bowling pin will be thrown against the ball doorasthe ballpasses through the pin area, and the impact of the pin striking theball'do or will cause the door'to open prematuerly.' The pin thereupon Often becomes lodged ih the;doorwayin some manner, and pre vent the ball from freely passing through the door. The only'way to correct this siutation is to manually retract the offending pin and this is anuisance and inconvenience tohoth the bowler and the bowling alley operator.

On some occasions, a pin will be moved past the ball door opening by a continuous conveyor belt at substantially the same instant the ball beginsto pass through the door opening. On occasion, the spinning action of the ball and the exact position of the pin will cause the ball to move the pin into the doorway to block or otherwise interfere with the free passage of the ball through the doorway.

Therefore, the principal object of my invention is to provide a ball door'attachment for automatic pin setting machines Which will lock the ball door against opening until the normal pin action has subsided to prevent a downed pin from opening the door.

A further object of my invention is to provide a ball door attachment for automatic pin setting machines which will automatically unlock 'the ball door a predetermined time afte r the bowling ball has passed through the pin area.

- A- still further object of my invention is to provide a ball door attachment for automatic pin setting machines which will prevent downed pins from moving directly past the ball doorway when the ball door is open. I

A still further object of my invention is to provide a ball door-attachment for automatic pin setting machines which will not interfere with the bowling operation.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a ball door attachment for automatic pin setting machines which can be easily installed on existing equipment. v

A still further object of my invention is to provide a ball door attachment for automatic pin setting machines which is economical of manufacture, durable in use, and

refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

. device;

FIG. .3 is an elevational view of the switch in FIG. 2 I

ice

Alli but shows the switch actuating the control switch of my device;

FIG. 4 is an electrical wiring diagram showing the operation of my device;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of my device;

FIG. 6 is a sectional vieW of my device taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of my device taken on line 77 of FIG. 1 with certain elements being cut away or shown in section to more fully illustrate its construction.

I have used the numerals 10 and 12 to designate the vertical side Walls of an automatic pin setting machine which are positioned at the end and in alignment with the bowling alley. An endless carpet 14 is movably supported at the bottoms of Walls 10 and 12. Carpet 14 spans the distance between the bottoms of Walls 10 and 12 and is connected to a source of power (not shown) so that thetopmost portion thereof always moves toward the rear of the device in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1-. A bumper 16 extends between walls 10 and 12 near the rear edge of carpet-14.- Bumper 16 is spaced a-sufiicient distance above carpet 14 to permit the passage of downed pins thereunder but this space will not permit the passage of a'conve'ntional bowling ball. The end of bumper 16 adjacent wall 1'2'is positioned more rearwardly than the corresponding position of-its other end on'wall 10. This non-straightposition of the bumper causes a bowling ball 18 on the carpet" 14 to move toward wall 12 rather than wall 10 when the carpet is moving in the manner described. A pin collecting wheel is operatively mounted in any convenient manner to side walls 10 and 12 to receive the downed pins that are carried under bumper 16 by carpet 1 4.

A control mechanism 20 is secured to wall 12 in any convenient manner. Control mechanism 20 supplies the power, control and coordination to the pin settin'gmachine and has, among other elements, a control panel 22 upon which motor 24 and switch 26 are mounted. Motor 24 is operatively electrically connected to bumper 16 so that when a bowling ball strikes the bumper, the motor will be electrically excited andthe motor shaft 28 will start to rotate in a clockwisedirecti'on-asviewed in FIGS. 2 and 3. Since this structure does not comprise a part of my invention'and is ofconventional design, some details thereof have been omitted from-the drawing. A cam wheel 30 is mounted-on the end or motor shaft 28. Cam wheel 30 has a recessed portion 32 of reduced diameter on its periphery with cam shoulders 34 and 36 at either end thereof. A spring arm 38 extends from switch 26, which is in a normally open position, and the switch 26 is closed whenever it is engaged by cam shoulder 36. The switch 26 will remain closed until the spring arm 38 has ridden down over earn shoulder 34. Switch 26 is electrically secured to the power mechanism which operates the sweep assembly (not shown) and other mechanisms which must'begin operating a few seconds after the bowling ball 18 has struck bumper 16. The cam wheel 30 and spring arm 38 are in the approximate position shown in FIG. 2 when the ball 18 strikes bumper 16 and'the motor 24 begins to operate. Approximately two seconds elapse before the cam shoulder 36 engages spring arm 38 to close switch 26 so as to permit the bowling pin action to subside before the sweep assembly and certain other carpet 14 operates continuously.

A circular ball doorway opening 40 appears in Wall 7 '12 near the end of bumper 16 and at the rearward end tional bowling ball to pass through at times when the of carpet 14 and is large enough to permit a convendoorway opening is unobstructed. As shown in FIG. 7,

a U-shaped bracket 42 is secured to the outer surface of wall 12 at one side of doorway opening 40, and an inverted U-shaped bracket 44 is similarly secured to the wall directly below bracket 42. A vertical hinge rod 46 extends downwardly through aligned apertures in brackets 42 and 44 and is so mounted that it can rotate about its own longitudinal axis. Bearing members 48 and 50 pivotally embrace rod 46. Arms 52 extend away from bearing members 48 and 50, respectively, and are secured to ball door 54 which is of sufiicient size to substantially close the ball door opening 40.

A vertical base plate 56 has ears 58 and 60 extending at right angles therefrom. Each of the ears 58 and 60, which are vertically aligned, have apertures that can movably receive hinge rod 46. As shown in FIG. 7, plate 56 is mounted against the outside surface of wall 12 by introducing the rod 46 through ears 58 and 60 to permit the plate to rest on top of bracket 42. A coil spring 62 embraces rod 46 and has its opposite ends engaging wall 12 and ball door 54, respectively, to yieldingly hold the ball door 54 in a closed position over doorway opening 40.

A plate 64 with aligned ears 66 extending at right angles therefrom is also mounted on rod 46 by means of apertures in the ears 66. As shown in FIG. 7, ears 66 rest on top of the ear 60 on base plate 56 and on top of the bottom portion of bracket 42. As will be seen hereafter, plate 64 is permitted some rotation in a horizontal plane upon rod 46. A straight arm 68 is pivoted to the outside of plate 64 by means of pin 70. As shown in FIG. 6, arm 68 extends beyond one end of plate 64 and passes between the plate and the guide loop strap 72 which is secured to the end of the plate. Strap 72 limits the vertical pivotal action of the arm 68.

A curved arm 74 is welded or otherwise secured to the end of arm 68. A notch 76 appears in the lower portion of the end 77 of arm 74 nearest to wall 12 and a finger 78 extends downwardly from the opposite end of the arm. As shown in FIG. 6, a horizontal lip 80 extends laterally outwardly from the base plate 56 in the close proximity of notch 76 and as will be seen hereafter, notch 76 is adapted to rest on lip 80 at times.

A coil spring 82 is connected by its respective ends in any convenient manner to lip 80 and arm 68 to normally urge the arm 68, plate 64 and end 77 of curved arm 74 toward base plate 56. It should be noted that when notch 76 is not resting on lip 80, the end 77 of curved arm 74 is bearing against the lip as shown in FIG. 5. A stud bolt 83 is threadably mounted in plate 64 and extends toward base plate 56 to adjustably limit the pivotal movement in one direction of the plate 64 toward the base plate.

As shown in FIG. 6, a lip 84 extends laterally from curved arm 74. An electrical solenoid 86 with downwardly extending plunger 88 is mounted above curved arm 74 on base plate 56 in any convenient manner. Solenoid 86 is adapted to withdraw or vertically raise plunger 88 when electrically excited. Link 90 has its opposite ends connected to the lower end of plunger 88 and the lip 84 on curved arm 74 to effect the connection between the curved arm and the solenoid.

A downwardly extending L-shaped bar 92 is welded or otherwise secured to ball door 54. A vertical bearing member 94 is secured to wall 12 by bracket 96 at substantially the same level as bar 92 but on the opposite side of ball door 54. An L-shaped bar 98 is pivotally mounted in bearing member 94. Connecting rod 100 extends between the lower horizontal portions of the L- sthaped bars 92 and 98 and is pivotally connected thereto by its ends in any convenient manner. A rectangular opening 102 appears in the wall 12 just forwardly of the bottom of door opening 40 and just above the level of carpet 14. Opening 162 terminates adjacent the upper portion of L-shaped bar 98. Bar 104 is rigidly secured to the upper portion of L-shaped bar 98 and is of suf- 4 ficient size to close opening 102 when the ball door 54 is closed.

A switch 106 which is normally open is mounted on control panel 22 and spring loaded arm 108 extends therefrom to a point near the periphery of cam wheel 50. A lug 118 is secured in any convenient fashion to the periphery of cam wheel 30 near cam shoulder 34 to engage the spring loaded arm 108 of switch 106 at times to momentarily close the switch. Electrical lead 112 connects switch 106 and solenoid 86.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified wiring diagram of my device. The lead 114 is connected to a source of electrical energy and switch 16' is imposed therein. Switch 16 is the switch which is closed when the bowling ball 18 strikes the bumper 16. The switches which cut out and control motor 24 are not shown in FIG. 4. Leads 116 and 118 connect lead 114 with switch 106 and motor 24, respectively, and lead 112 connects switch 106 with solenoid 86. Lead 120 connects solenoid 86 with the negative side of the source of electrical energy and the parallel connection between motor 24 and solenoid 86 is completed by lead 122 which connects motor 24 and lead 128.

The normal operation of my device is as follows: The notch 76 of curved arm 74 normally engages and receives the periphery of ball door 54, as shown in FIG. 5, to lock the ball door from outward pivotal movement on rod 46. Thus, with the arm 74 so engaging ball door 54, the door cannot be opened by the bowling ball 18 or any flying pins. The ball door 54 is in this locking condition and the cam wheel 30 is in the position shown in FIG. 2 as the bowling ball is proceeding down the bowling alley toward the pin area. The ball passes through the pin area and strikes bumper 16 which closes the switch 16 to excite and start motor 24. The cam wheel 30 on the shaft 28 of motor 24 begins to move in a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 2. The ball door 54 remains locked in the manner described even though downed pins and/or the ball 18 may have immediately engaged the door. In approximately two seconds, after the action of the downed bowling pins has subsided, the lug 110 on cam wheel 30 has moved to the position shown in FIG. 3 to engage the spring arm 108 on switch 106 to momentarily close the switch. The closing of switch 106 momentarily excites the field of solenoid 86 and causes the solenoid to withdraw or raise plunger 88. This action of plunger 88 raises link 90, arm 68, and curved arm 74 to disengage the notch 76 of arm 74 from the ball door 54. At this point the ball door thereupon becomes unlocked. As the curved arm 74 is raised by the solenoid 86, the end 77 of the arm slidably engages the lip on base plate 56. As soon as the curved arm 74 is raised enough to bring the notch 76 on the curved arm to the level of lip 80, the coil spring 82 pivots the plate 64 on rod 46 in a direction toward base plate 56 thus permitting the notch on the curved arm to ride over and on top of lip 80. The lip 80 will therefore keep the curved arm 74 and arm 68 in a raised position even though the solenoid 86 is deenergized as soon as the lug on cam wheel 30 passes the spring arm 108 on switch 106 to open the switch. The ball door 54 will remain unlocked as long as the curved arm 74 is in this raised position.

The carpet 14 is continually moving in the manner described and the oifset position of the bumper 16 causes the ball 18 to spin over against the inside surface of the ball door 54. The momentum of the ball causes the door to overcome the closing pressure exerted by coil spring 62, and the door opens to permit the ball to pass through doorway opening 40. As the door 54 opens, it engages the downwardly extending finger 78 on curved arm 74. The pressure of the ball door 54 on the curved arm '74 causes the plate 64 to pivot on rod 46 a slight distance away from the base plate 56 to pull the notch 76 on the curved arm off of the lip 80. This permits the lower edge of curved arm 74 to rest on the open door as the arm attempts to drop downwardly from the force of gravity to its locked position. After the ball 18 has passed through the doorway '40, the coil spring 62 causes the ball door 54 to move to its closed position. The curved arm 74 thereupon floates on top of door 54 as the door moves to its closed position, and the notch 76 on the end of the curved arm automatically falls to rest on the door when the door is closed. Thus, the ball door 54 is automatically looked as soon as it closes.

When the ball door 54 is opened in the manner described, the L-shaped bar 92 pivots with the door. Bar 92 thereupon pivots L-shaped bar 98 in a like manner, by means of the connecting rod 100, to cause the bar 104 to pivot through opening 102 in wall 12. The bar 104 thereupon assumes the position shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 6 and dwells just over the level of moving carpet 14. Bar 104 will therefore deflect any pin that might have been pulled onto the carpet by the sweeping mechanism (not shown) and which might be moving on the carpet next to wall 12 at the instant the ball 18 opens the ball door 54. The bar 104 will be retracted back through the opening 102 as soon as the ball door 54 starts to close and this retraction will be accomplished by the reverse motion of the same mechanism that caused the bar to move through the opening initially.

Thus, from the foregoing, it is seen that my device will accomplish at least all of its stated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my ball door attachment for automatic pin setting machines without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In combination with an automatic pin setting machine having a side wall with interior and exterior sides, a doorway opening in said wall, a ball door pivotally mounted on the exterior side of said side wall to close said doorway opening at times to prevent the normal passage of a ball through said doorway opening from the interior side of said wall to the exterior side thereof, and a control switch responsive to the impact of a bowling ball; said control switch being located on said pin setting machine at a point remote from said side wall and said ball door so as not to engage or to interfere with the physical passage of a ball into or through said doorway opening, a locking means operatively secured to said wall and adapted to normally lock said door against opening whenever said door is closed, operating means on said side wall for releasing said locking means from said door, and a delay mechanism connecting said control switch and said operating means to delay the actuation of said locking means for a predetermined time after said control switch has been actuated by a bowling ball; said operating means being located on the exterior side of said wall and being free from direct operative engagement with a ball at all times.

2. In combination with an automatic pin setting machine having a side wall with interior and exterior sides, a doorway opening in said wall, a ball door pivotally mounted on the exterior side of said side wall to close said doorway opening at times to prevent the normal passage of a ball through said doorway opening from the interior side of said wall to the exterior side thereof, and a control switch responsive to the impact of a bowling ball; said control switch being located on said pin setting machine at a point remote from said side wall and said ball door so as not to engage or to interfere with the physical passage of a ball into or through said doorway opening, a locking means operatively secured to said wall and adapted to normally lock said door against opening whenever said door is closed, operating means on said side wall for releasing said locking means from said door, a delay mechanism connecting said control switch and said operating means to delay the actuation of said locking means for a predetermined time after said control switch has been actuated by a bowling ball; said operating means being located on the exterior side of said wall and being free from direct operative engagement with a ball at all times, an opening in said wall adjacent said doorway opening, a bar pivotally mounted within said opening and normally being in alignment with said wall when said ball door is closed, and linkage connecting said bar and said ball door to pivot said bar through said opening and out of the exterior side of said wall when said ball door is in an open condition.

3. In combination with an automatic pin setting machine having a side wall with interior and exterior sides, a doorway opening in said wall, a ball door pivotally mounted on the exterior side of said side wall to close said doorway opening at times to prevent the normal passage of a ball through said doorway opening from the interior side of said wall to the exterior side thereof, and a control switch responsive to the impact of a bowl-ing ball; said control switch being located on said pin setting machine at a point remote from said side wall and said ball door so as not to engage or to interfere with the physical passage of a ball into or through said doorway opening, and means on the exterior side of said wall and said door, and being remote from positions adjacent the interior side of said wall and said door, including an arm operatively pivotally secured to said wall and adapted to pivot in both vertical and horizontal planes, means on said wall engaging said arm to limit its pivotal movement in all directions, said arm so positioned on said wall that it can engage and lock said ball door in closed condition when in its lowermost position, operating means on said wall for raising said arm at times to unlock said ball door, a delay mechanism connecting said control switch and said operating means to delay the raising of said arm for a predetermined time after said control means has been actuated by a bowling ball, a catch mechanism on said wall for engaging and releasably holding said arm in a raised position after said arm has been raised to a predetermined height, and means on said arm to engage said door when said door is moving to an opened position to permit said door to disengage said arm from said catch mechanism.

4. In combination with an automatic pin setting machine having a side wall with interior and exterior sides, a doorway opening in said wall, a ball door pivotally mounted on the exterior side of said side wall to close said doorway opening at times to prevent the normal passage of a ball through said doorway opening from the interior side of said Wall to the exterior side thereof, and a control switch responsive to the impact of a bowling ball; said control switch being located on said pin setting machine at a point remote from said side wall and said ball door so as not to engage or to interfere with the physical passage of a ball into or through said doorway opening, and means on the exterior side of said wall and said door, and being remote from positions adjacent the interior side of said wall and said door, including an arm operatively pivotally secured to said wall and adapted -to pivot in both vertical and horizontal planes, means on said wall engaging said arm to limit its pivotal movement in all directions, said arm so positioned on said wall that it can engage and lock said ball door in closed condition when in its lowermost position, operating means on said wall for raising said arm at times to ram lock said ball door, a delay mechanism connecting said control switch and said operating means to delay the raising of said arm for a predetermined time after said control means has been actuated by a bowling ball, a catch mechanism on said wall for engaging and releasably holding said arm in a raised position after said arm has been raised to a predetermined height, and means terior side of said wall when said ball door is in an open on said arm to engage said door when said door is movdition, ing to an opened position to permit said door to disengage said arm from said catch mechanism; an opening References Cited in the file of this patent 2111 said wall ad acent said doorway opening, a bar pivot- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS y mounted within said opening and normally being, in alignment with said wall when said ball door is closed, 7 1 Zllefchel et 2, 1956 and linkage connecting said bar and said ball door to 2,767,983 Holloway et a1. Oct. 23, 1956 Dumas June 16, 1959 pivot said bar through said opening and out of the ex- 2,890,886 

